Description

Rio Antirrio Bridge – Greek Bridge

Athens 2004 Olympic Games Pin

The Rio Antirrio Bridge, officially the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge after the statesman who first envisaged it, is one of the world’s longest multi-spancable-stayed bridges and the longest of the fully suspended type. It crosses the Gulf of Corinth near Patras, linking the town of Rio on the Peloponnese peninsula to Antirrio on mainland Greece by road.

The bridge accommodates both pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic.

Its official name is the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge. Charilaos Trikoupis was a 19th century prime minister of Greece; he suggested the idea of building a bridge between Rio and Antirrio. The project was too expensive at the time, when Greece was trying to get a late start in the Industrial Revolution.

The bridge was inaugurated on 7 August 2004, a week before the opening of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Olympic torchbearers were the first to officially cross its length. One of them was Otto Rehhagel, the German football coach who won the Euro 2004 Championships for Greece. Another was Costas Laliotis, the former Minister of Public Works during whose term the project had begun.